Share via

Older people could face delays in getting the shingles jab after Public Health England ran out of supplies, weeks after the launch of a national vaccination programme.

GPs will have to rely on existing stocks after the manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur MSD, miscalculated how long it would take to carry out basic safety checks on the vaccine, Zostavax, when it arrives from the US.

A total of 800,000 people in their seventies are entitled to receive the jab. Normal supplies will not resume until next month at the earliest.

Bruce Taylor, head of vaccines at Public Health England (PHE), said: “Although